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General Motors recalling another 662,000 trucks and small cars

GM-Recalls logo.jpg

General Motors Co. announced Saturday it is recalling about 490,000 trucks and 172,000 small cars, meaning the automaker has now recalled about 4.8 million vehicles in the United States during the first three months of the year. That is about six times the number of recalls it made in all of 2013.
(The Associated Press archive)

General Motors Co. announced Saturday it is recalling about 490,000 trucks and 172,000 small cars, meaning the automaker has now recalled about 4.8 million vehicles in the United States during the first three months of the year. That is about six times the number of recalls it made in all of 2013.

The trucks being recalled are the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups, as well as the 2015 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL with six-speed automatic transmissions. GM said a loose fitting for the transmission's oil cooler line could allow oil leaks. The automaker said it was aware of three fires but no injuries resulting from the problem.

The cars being recalled are the 2013-14 Cruze models with 1.4-liter four-cylinder engines. GM said the right-front axle half-shaft could break, cutting power to the front wheels, although the engine would continue to run and the steering and brakes would still function. The automaker said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the problem.

GM recalled about 758,000 vehicles in the United States in 2013, ninth among automakers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Toyota was first, with about 5.3 million vehicles, followed by Chrysler with 4.7 million and Honda with almost 2.8 million.

The largest among seven major GM recalls this year covers about 2.2 million vehicles in the United States and involves an ignition-switch defect on small cars, including the Chevrolet Cobalt, which could cause the engine to shut off if the driver's leg hit the key chain or the vehicle sustained a major jolt. The automaker expanded that recall Friday when it added about 971,000 vehicles from later model years, including about 824,000 in the United States. The expansion is needed, GM said, to find about 90,000 defective ignition switches installed as replacement parts on the newer vehicles.

On Friday, the automaker also said it was aware of a 13th death related to the faulty ignition switches. It said the crash involved a 2007 Cobalt and occurred in Quebec, Canada.